To Know
by Tilt5000
Summary: How do you put up with someone when you have absolutely no idea how their mind works? Case and point, Risa and Argentine. Things are still akward in the artwork's strange tower. Let's watch. Mild Dark/Risa, Argentine/Risa in later chapters.
1. Afterwards

After some screaming (on the part of Risa) and a lot of confusion (on the part of both Risa and Argentine), the two realized that neither was effectively getting their point across to the other. They gave up when it started raining. Risa hurried inside, skirting carefully around Argentine. He followed, closing the French double doors when they were both safely in the tower.

The glass from the shattered vase was scattered all over the floor, and now that Risa had calmed down she wasn't about to walk on that. It was a wondrous miracle that she hadn't cut open her feet, running back and forth between the staircase and balcony like she had.

Argentine seemed to read into her concern. In one swift motion, he had rematerialized the vase, just as he had the rose. Holding it in both hands, he walked calmly to its little table and set it back in its place. Risa stared at him as if he had three heads, side-stepped away from him, and headed straight for the bed. She curled her legs up under her in a controlled position, trying to create an illusion of safety for herself. Argentine stalked quietly to the other side of the room and took up residence on his piano bench. He watched her silently, face stiff and eyes expressionless.

Risa tried hard to ignore him. Something else was on her mind. She had been out for days, even though she didn't know it, and was now realizing how hungry she was. She grimaced slightly and clutched at her stomach. Across the room, Argentine looked at her intently. "Is something wrong?" he questioned, breaking their silence.

"No."

The boy seemed unconvinced. He started to stand, but stopped when he saw Risa Cringe. "Are you ill?" he pressed.

Risa glanced at him. There was something in his voice… Worry? _Because of what he said? _She wondered. _That he needs me? _"No, really, I'm just hungry," she muttered inwardly. She felt foolish, though she couldn't say why.

"Oh," Argentine looked as if he hadn't realized it would be a problem. He glanced at the balcony as if he was thinking about leaving. But he didn't move. Finally, slowly, he stood and took a few steps toward the doors. Giving Risa a quick glance, he asked, "If I leave, will you stay in this room until I return?"

"… Where would I go?"

Argentine took this as a yes. He stepped out onto the balcony and took off without another word.

Risa slowly pulled herself off the bed and trotted silently out to the railings of the balcony. She looked down at the raging ocean, catching sight of rocks between the waves. It gave her a strange mixture of two emotions: fright and sadness. She stepped up onto the railing, but couldn't seem to let herself fall.

_If you fall, you will be destroyed, _Argentine's voice echoed in her head. _You will be destroyed. You will be destroyed. You will be destroyed._

Risa made a pitiful noise like a frightened animal and hurriedly dropped… back onto the balcony. She was almost crying she was so scared and ashamed. "Alright," she muttered to herself. "I'm not gonna try that again."

She slipped back into the room and pulled herself up on the bed. The rest of what Argentine had said, "Humans are so fragile," ran through her mind. It was true, she was fragile. A porcelain doll. If you touched her she might break. She suddenly felt as if she were a doll, held in the hands of some inhuman creation with no regard for her except that he wanted her help. When he found out that she couldn't help him, what would he do? She didn't know. She didn't want to know. Just thinking about it made her squirm. Holding her knees up to her chin, she tried to push the thought away and replace it with something else.

Dark. She could concentrate on him. Closing her eyes, trying to picture him in her mind, Risa knew somewhere in her heart that he would come to find her and rescue her. He was her brave knight, coming to the aid of his damsel in distress.

'I can't wait to hold him again,' she thought with a soft smile. 'He's coming for me.'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud gust of wind rattling the doors. Argentine landed gently on the balcony, and the wind subsided as he straightened himself. Opening the door slowly, he stepped inside and closed it behind him. In one hand he held a paper bag. Approaching Risa, who leaned away involuntarily, he held it out toward her. Slowly, tentatively, she reached out and took it from him.

"Tell me if that is not sufficient," he muttered, not looking directly at her. He stalked off to his piano and sat down on the bench.

Risa opened the bag slowly and pulled out a typical Japanese boxed meal. This surprised her for a reason she did not know and could not explain. She ate slowly, taking very small bites.

She could feel Argentines eyes on her, and when she looked up it was almost as if he were laughing at her. "What are you looking at me like that for?" she asked.

The boy almost smiled, but maybe it was a smirk. "You eat like a rabbit."

Risa gave him a look like he was out of his mind, blushing heavily and biting her lip to keep from screaming in exasperation. From then on, she swore, she would always try her hardest to never look like a rabbit.


	2. Must We

"Good morning, Sacred Maiden." These words seemed more like an echo, distant and unimportant. Especially now, when Risa was so happy. She was dreaming… but not only dreaming, dreaming of Dark. "I will go play something," the echo added, and Risa felt somewhere in her mind that this was a very good thing, and it increased her happiness. She heard without comprehending the sound of music; music so beautiful and resonating that it began to pull her out of her sleep. As this happened, the memory of the last two days came back to her, so that by the time she was fully awake and sitting up she was far from happy.

Argentine, the unfortunate owner of the echoing voice that interrupted Risa's dream, continued playing for a few minutes before turning to look at her. "You look better this morning," he remarked casually, ignoring her pointed glare. "Do you require something?"

Risa noticed that he was wearing his going out cloak, and figured he was off to get something or another. "No, not right now…" Argentine nodded. He put down the key cover of his piano and stood quietly.

Just as he was about to close the balcony door behind himself, he turned back and caught Risa's gaze. "Please refrain from throwing yourself from the balcony." He almost laughed at her plain expression of surprise, but somehow contained it and went on his way.

On returning, he found the Sacred Maiden in a comparatively better mood. Argentine set something in a package carefully on the piano, sitting on the bench and looking at the girl questioningly. "May we speak of something?" he asked, leaning back ever so slightly and putting his weight on his hands.

"Must we?" Risa had been off in her own made-up world, were she and Dark could be always together and happy, and she was less than appreciative of being pulled from it. "Fine."

Argentine gave her something akin to a smile, but he was not hesitant in asking his questions despite her own hesitation. "If you are not Black Wings' Sacred Maiden, which I still believe you are, why was he with you?"

Though it was not in the least meant to be offensive, Risa took it as such. She grimaced. "What does that mean? Do you think I'm not pretty enough for someone like Dark?" The thing was, she had often wondered why Dark bothered with her. But it still vexed her when Argentine asked it.

"No, that was not the point…" Argentine replied, frowning. "Even among the world of art, where female beauty is unsurpassed, I believe many would consider you attractive." He said this without any emotion, so that while Risa would've taken a comment like that romantically otherwise, she did not think so now.

With a sigh, Risa came up with an answer to his question. "Well, I guess he was tired of me following him around… Why shouldn't he date me?"

Argentine, who shifted slightly to lean on the key cover, looked out into space as he replied, "It is only that he is… how did that one young lady put it? … He is like a god of the art world. I knew he was involved with a human in each of his incarnations, if that is the right word for it, but you say that you are not his Sacred Maiden, and I thought it strange that he should be with you…" He was going to say 'when he could have anyone,' but he figured in time that this would probably be taken badly. He looked back at Risa again. "At any rate, what is your infatuation with him? He is an infamous thief, after all."

"What does that make you?" Risa asked indignantly, "The infamous kidnapper?" She only said this in order to avoid giving an answer to the question. If anyone else had asked that question, she would've made some reference to Dark's looks or personality (but mostly his looks), but for some reason certain things seemed silly to say around Argentine. He was… too proper.

A slight flush crept into the boy's face without him realizing, and he tried to laugh off the strange feeling those words had given him. "Touché."

Risa, very eager to get away from the subject altogether, pointed to the package on the piano. "What's that?"

"You're very curious, aren't you…?" Argentine muttered, softly enough that Risa didn't hear him. Nevertheless, he stood and opened it. He took out and unfolded a quilted blanket. "It was just a thought…" he said, carrying it over to the bed. "It gets cold here at night." Laying the blanket carefully on the end of the bed, he almost smiled. "I thought it was pretty."

Tilting her head to the side slightly, Risa cocked an eyebrow and looked at it. "Uh… yeah. It's really pretty…"

She felt him looking at her and turned away. "You're a pretty open book, you know."

With a puzzled, or maybe amused, expression, Argentine replied, "I didn't know books were meant to be closed."


	3. Calm Before the Storm

Risa stared idly up at the sky, trying to think of Dark to calm herself down. She was sitting out on the balcony, waiting for Argentine to come back. Maybe waiting isn't the right word, since she was partly dreading his return. He left the tower every once in a while, on his own business or to get her something to eat. It wasn't a concept he seemed to understand, but he knew she needed food and he got it for her.

They hadn't spoken much in the past few days, even though they were so often in that room together. She mostly had to entertain herself. She thought about Riku, Daisuke, her parents, but mostly about Dark.

__

He isn't human;

she heard Argentine's voice in the back of her mind. The blonde boy she'd been kidnapped by wasn't human, and neither was her deepest crush that she had been separated from. Her captor had told her that he wanted to be Dark. She didn't get it. He needed her help. What on earth was she supposed to do? _He isn't human. _Risa clutched her head and pulled her legs up against herself, trying to remove the voice from her head. "Shut up, Argentine…" she growled, though there was no one to hear her. Dark had to be human… didn't he?

Risa suddenly became aware of a mild wind whipping her hair around and tugging at the skirt of her dress. She looked up in time to see Argentine land gracefully on the railing of the balcony. "Is something wrong?" he asked, though there wasn't much of a questioning tone to his voice. He stepped down lightly, tossing Risa an orange. He opened the balcony door and held it open for her. "Come, Sacred Maiden."

Her eyes narrowed as she stood up. "My name is _Risa_," she told him for maybe the hundredth time.

Argentine blinked. "Come, Sacred Maiden."

Rolling her eyes, she obeyed, staying as far from the strange boy as she could. Perching on the edge of the bed, she set herself to peeling the skin off the orange.

Argentine left the door open, heading over to his piano. He ran his gloved hand over the ivory keys. "You played it again…?" he asked, sitting down softly.

Glancing at him oddly, Risa briefly wondered how he always seemed to know when she had played the instrument. "Yeah," was all she said, and all the answer Argentine needed. He gave her a funny kind of half-smile and went straight to his playing.

Over the time of her stay, his playing had become an object of odd admiration to Risa, though she never would've admitted it. He often played by ear, just as it came to him, but it seemed that he also had a few songs he had written. It was all beautiful, and at the same time desperately sad. But just the same, if he was not there to play at night, Risa found it harder to go to sleep. She had come to appreciate hearing it as she woke up, too. He had been right about that.

Risa was ripped from her thoughts when the piano music ended abruptly. She glanced over to look at Argentine, making sure everything was alright. His head was tilted upward, and his eyes were closed. 'What's he doing…?' Risa wondered. She had a very strange feeling.

"Sacred Maiden?"

The girl sighed. "My name is Ri- oh, never mind. What?"

He turned his empty eyes on her, and she squirmed slightly. "Your emotions and subconscious thoughts are in turmoil."

Without even thinking, she blurted out, "What the heck is _wrong_ with you?! You're so weird!" After a second, she added, "I guess they are." 'No kidding,' she said to herself. She was scared, angry, sad, lonely, unsure, worried, the list went on. Yes, her emotions were messed up. What did this guy expect?

Argentine just grinned a little at her outburst. "Why is that?"

It sounded like a simple question. Weird, but simple. Still, Risa had to really think for a minute, if only because there were so many thing. "A lot of reasons," she muttered lamely, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Argentine just continued grinning, turning back to the piano and starting up the song from the beginning. He was like that sometimes, starting and ending conversations whenever he wanted. Risa didn't care too much about the ending part. Talking to him was not very high on her list of fun activities. Not that there was anything else to do or anything. But his voice was cold and distant. Honestly, she was really scared of him.

After about an hour of playing and writing down notes, Argentine stood and headed for the door. Risa wanted him to go, but didn't at the same time. It was hard for her to decide which was worse; being alone or being with him. He glanced back at her from the doorway. She felt his eyes on her and looked out of the corner of her eye. "I'll be gone until tomorrow morning, Sacred Maiden," he informed her. "I'll bring something back for you, if you wish."

Risa thought about something she could be doing with all this free time. "A book would be nice…" she muttered, more to herself than to Argentine. She generally wasn't much of a reader, but any distraction from her situation was good.

Argentine nodded, walked out onto the balcony. As he closed the doors behind himself, he called, "Be good." Risa wondered if that was some sort of attempt at humor. Argentine wasn't very funny… she even thought about throwing the vase at him again, because he wasn't very nice either. But before she could make any response, he was gone.

Risa had always hated being alone. She thought it probably stemmed from when she and Riku were separated. That was back when they were little kids. Here, in Argentine's tower, the loneliness was much worse. Maybe because it was so quiet out there, wherever "there" happened to be. It was like torture being stuck there, in a room that served as her prison.

This would be the longest time Argentine would be gone since she came there. She may have been sick of him at that moment, but she would start wishing he would come back within the next few hours. She already knew it would be horrible. She imagined herself, sitting on the bed, nothing to do but think about everyone she missed and the one person she so despised. Dark was her only hope now. He was looking for her, wasn't he? He would find her, rescue her, right? There were unanswerable questions that still felt as if they needed to be asked.

"Dark," she found herself calling aloud, "please help me!"

Through the window, Risa could see that the sun had already set on the far side of the tower. She couldn't see very well, as the moon was partially hidden behind a grey cloud cover. But she could do well getting to the piano and pulling back the key cover. The ivory was smooth and cold under her fingers; she lowered herself to the bench and started to play. It was only a simple Japanese folksong, but it was one of the only songs she had committed to memory. After repeating it a few times, she let her mind wonder away from the notes onto the ever interesting topic of Dark.

Quite suddenly, she remembered something he had asked her recently. It was strange when he'd asked it, but with everything that Argentine had said… What had it been, exactly? _If I was a monster…_ was the only part she could really remember. It seemed like a very long time age, but hadn't it just happened a few days ago? But either way, that's what he had said. And Argentine had said that neither of them was human. But Dark could never be a monster… not him. Maybe he wasn't human, but he certainly wasn't a monster. But if he wasn't either of those things, than what was he?

_That's easy,_ Risa thought, smiling to herself. _Dark is an angel. _Even just thinking that made her so happy… and sad. It was the downside to being in love; it hurt to be away from him. She longed to hear his strong, velvet voice, feel his arms around her, have his lips pressed against hers as his raven-purple hair brushed against her face. _Yeah, an angel. _Her fantasy bubble popped as she looked around the room again. _Argentine's the monster._

Growing tired, she laid back in her bed. Or rather, it must have been Argentine's bed. She wondered briefly where he had been sleeping. Maybe he didn't need to sleep. She wouldn't have been entirely surprised, were that the case. Thinking on this, she sat up wishing for piano music until she finally fell asleep.


	4. The Storm

Risa had a really weird dream were Riku and Dark got married. As it faded away, a sweet music filled its place, gently pulling her out of her sleep and into the morning.

_Argentine's back…_ Some more awake part of her mind told her. She sat up slowly and looked toward the piano. Sure enough, the golden headed boy was backing, playing her into wakefulness as he always did. He turned his head to look at her without ceasing to play. Risa waved stupidly at him; she was still half asleep. Argentine's eyes grinned, and he turned back to face the keys.

Risa noticed the basket on the end of the bed. Crawling forward to look inside, she saw that it was all things for her. Food, the book he had promised, and something she had not expected: a new dress. She dismissed the other things for the moment and picked up the piece of fabric to inspect it. Far looser, she noticed, than the one she was wearing, it would be a little more comfortable. It was pretty, too, with lace detailing on the hem and neckline. The color was a beautiful royal blue, and she knew just from looking that it was perfect for her.

_Wow, _she thought, holding the dress in front of her body. _Argentine has a good eye for beautiful things. _It was true. The dresses, his music, and the roses he had put on the nightstand, even his whole "home", if you could call it that, was really pretty. _A monster that likes beautiful things…_

Argentine, after a minute of playing, stood up and headed for the balcony. "I'll let you get dressed," he explained briefly, going out and closing the doors behind him.

As Risa slipped off the old dress, she wondered why he hadn't changed her clothes while she was sleeping, like he had the first time. Maybe he had seen that it bothered her. She was just glad that he'd decided not to.

The dress, just as she had thought, was free and loose, a pleasure to move in and soft against her skin. It felt almost like silk. "It's really a marvelous dress," she muttered, taking a rose from the vase, without really knowing what it was she was doing, and sticking it behind her ear.

Argentine came back in and looked her over with the scrutinizing eyes of an artist. "Do you like it?" He sounded genuinely curious.

Nodding, Risa did a little turn. She was so happy with the dress, she almost forgot who she was talking to and that she wasn't supposed to like him. "Yes, very much. Does it suit me?" she questioned, adjusting the collar slightly.

"It does," he replied, something akin to a smile on his face. Turning abruptly, he pointed to the dark grey clouded-over sky. "It will rain soon."

Risa glanced outside. It did look rather ominously like rain. That was fine, as long as there wasn't a-

_**BOOM! **_The rain pelted furiously against the glass doors. Jagged lightning streaked across the sky, followed by the crash of thunder. Risa was huddled up on the bed, the blanket draped over her shoulders as she hugged herself for comfort. Her whole body was shivering; a combination of incurable cold and nerves. Argentine was sitting on the piano bench, leaning on the key cover and staring out at the rain and lighting with seemingly great interest. He was always so calm… didn't anything bother him?!

Lightning flashed. _**BOOM! **_Risa nearly jumped out of her skin, curling herself into an even tighter ball. She was scared. She was really, really scared. She couldn't help it; thunderstorms freaked her out.

Flash. _**BOOM! **_It was getting closer. The fragile girl was almost in tears.

Flash. _**BOOM! **_Risa shrieked, unable to tear her eyes from the window even with all her terror. It's a curious thing.

Sighing, Argentine stood up and walked over to the bed. Risa was so frightened, she didn't even notice until he was right beside her. "Sacred Maide-"

"My name is Risa!" she nearly screamed as another roll of thunder came through. Tears had started to make there way down her smooth cheeks, falling silently onto the blanket.

Argentine stared at her for a long moment, trying to decide what it was he should do or could do to make her stop crying. It's not at all fun to watch other people crying without really knowing why they're doing it.

Thunder sounding again, this time so close that it seemed to shake the very stones of the tower. Risa was sobbing full-on, making an awful sound like some kind of utterly distressed animal.

Not able to think of anything else, and being quite desperate, though not showing it, Argentine sat down on the bed beside her and brushed his hand across her face to wipe away the tears. It didn't do much, as more were coming all the time, but she quieted down some as he did it. "Do not be afraid; you are safe here."

This is, of course, not entirely reassuring to someone with a phobia, but Risa felt a sort of comfort in the voice and the words. As the storm continued right around them, she was still very jumpy and uneasy. Once she even clutched onto Argentine without thinking, and she didn't let go for quite a long time.

Finally, as the storm was finally moving on in the early hours of the next morning, Risa fell asleep. When her muscles relaxed she fell back from Argentine, sprawled haphazardly on the bed. He didn't want to wake her, but even he was feeling the cold now, and he knew she should be covered. He moved her as carefully as he could, arranging her hair under her head and pulling the blanket over her body. He waited there by her side, to make sure she would be okay.

When Risa eventually came to, she was a bit surprised to see Argentine looming over her like a watchman. He looked down at her, attempting to look casual but not really achieving it, brushed a lock of hair out of the girl's face, and walked over to his piano. She stared after him, eyes puffy from crying and cheeks flushed from embarrassment. Her mind went back to the night before, and she remembered how he comforted her, though now that she was calmed down she couldn't understand how. Still, she figured she should say something. To Argentine, though, there never seemed to be much to say. Gulping down air, she muttered a feeble, "Thank you, Argentine. For last night, I mean."

The boy turned and looked at her with his grinning cat eyes. "You're welcome…" The grin in his eyes transformed into a smile on his lips, and he finished, "Risa." With this, he walked out onto the balcony and took off.

The "captive' stared after him, a little confused. _I guess I was wrong, _she thought. _Argentine isn't a monster either. _"He must be an angel, too."


	5. Nightmare?

A/N: This chapter was added after I had "finished" this fic, so apologies for any strange changes in style. It also hasn't been proofread by anyone but me, so… be forewarned. Cookies to everyone who gets the movie reference. Please enjoy!

* * *

Risa's hormone-induced dreams had increased, both in number and dime-store quality romance scenes, since she had met Dark. Usually, they featured fairy tale dresses and rescue adventures, followed by surprisingly innocent make out sessions. Her more recent dreams, those that had haunted her after being spirited away to Argentine's tower, were different somehow. The fairy tales still existed, but the happiness was soured by a glowering shadow of reality; of separation. They continued in this pattern, growing worse by the night, until only the soothing music of Argentine's piano could coax her into sleeping.

This night, so far, was nothing new. Risa's knight in shining armor, her glorious black-winged hero, had saved her from some ambiguous peril. He now held her, crushing her protectively in his arms as they flew through the cool midnight air.

"Dark," Risa breathed, grasping his shirtfront in her pale hands. She was eager to share her latest revelation with him. "Dark, you're an angel!"

Smiling sardonically, Dark replied, "Really. Is that what I am?" He grinned down at her playfully, his endlessly deep eyes wreaking havoc on Risa's delicate insides.

She nodded with as much conviction as her confused state could muster. Dark snickered, landing in a grassy field. He half-released her, taking the constricting pressure off her arms and lungs. She breathed deeply, stretching her arms up to curl around Dark's shoulders, and tried to keep speaking. Dark wasn't having that.

A mischievous glint in his eyes, he pulled her up off the ground and let his lips press gently against hers. Risa gave up any notions of talking, trying to reach her toes to the ground as she kissed him back. He was too tall, so she contentedly allowed him to hold her up…

Something changes. Risa could still feel a kiss, arms around her, and her arms around another, but… the long wisps of Dark's hair that had brushed her face seemed to have disappeared. Her toes now reached the ground. The arms clutched around her waist, too, were different… shorter? Unclasping her hands, Pisa pushed against thin shoulders, trying to free herself. She was quickly released, and stumbled back to see what had happened.

Dark was nowhere to be seen. In his place stood a shorter, tanner, blonder boy, smiling at her with blue cat-like eyes. At that moment, he was all too familiar.

Risa shrieked, jumping back from him wearily. He chortled quietly, at her reaction. "Is there a problem?"

"How'd you get here?!" A burning blush was spreading across her face, brightening her cheeks. Had she just kissed…? Eugh, she didn't even want to _think_ about it!

Mildly bemused, Argentine's mouth fell into an indifferent expression while his eyes laughed. "Would you rather I leave?" he asked, his voice soft. Softer than Dark's voice, Risa realized.

Before giving it a second thought, a tight, whispered scream escaped from her lips. "Yes!" Instantly, she regretted it.

"As you wish," Argentine whispered, fading quickly out of the dream, into the blackness that had encroached around them. Just as she knew he would. Argentine had never failed to leave her when she asked him to.

And she was alone now. Dark was gone. Argentine was gone. Everything had gone pitch black. There was nothing.

By the angels of mercy, Risa's eyes fluttered open to the crisp, chill morning. The sky was white-grey with clouds, and apart from the calls of seabirds there was nothing to be heard.

Wait- that was wrong. Risa shot up, jumping as her feet hit the cold floor. She looked around, panicked, and ran toward the piano. Her hands ran over the empty bench, the closed key cover, the left-open music book. Where was he? He was always there when she woke up… always there to play her awake. So where had he gone?

After taking a moment for a quick exercise in self-control, Risa decided to look around- maybe Argentine was in the tower somewhere. Easiest place first: Risa walked shakily toward the balcony. The door swung open easily, caught in a north wind. Stepping through hesitantly, Risa swept her eyes over the stone railing, the platform, the walls. She walked to the edge. She looked up. She looked down. Nothing. Not even the distant speck, the one she pretended not to watch in anticipation, which would often foretell his return. "Argentine?" she called loudly, but no answer came.

Placing a white hand over her collarbone, she tried to calm the frantic beating of her heart. Just because Argentine was gone, just because he hadn't warned her before he left, she was flying into a panic? She had been alone in Argentine's tower before. And what exactly was the difference?

It was the dream. The way she'd yelled at him. The kiss… The sadness in his eyes as he faded away. Risa clutched her stomach, feeling a vague sensation there, as if her insides were rotting. Tears broke through her eyes, trailing down the smooth plains of her cheeks.

Wiping desperately at her face, Risa turned and ran to the only other part of the tower she knew. The staircase stretched down in a winding stone corkscrew, cut off from her by a long gap where apparently, a row of stairs had collapsed. She looked around as best she could, getting slightly dizzy when she looked over the edge of the landing. "Argentine?" she called again, flinching as the walls echoed her tearful voice back at her.

Alright, what now? There was nowhere left to look- she had exhausted all possibility of him being in the tower. Unless, of course, if he were in some room at the bottom of the tower… if there even were rooms down there, which she had no way of knowing. Well, then again, the drop to the stairs below wasn't _that _far…

Mind made up, Risa stepped back against the far wall. She tensed, ready to jump, a shining simile to "The Little Engine That Could". Deep breath in, slow breath out. No big deal. Think light.

In a flurry of white limbs and blue fabric, Risa found herself airborne. In those few seconds between safe solidity of stone under her feet, she thought about how badly it would hurt.

Risa never reached the staircase. Instead, an unexpected pair of arms caught her around the waist sharply, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She was crushed protectively to a familiar body; she couldn't see his face, but the arms that held her, squishing uncomfortably up under her chest, were unmistakable.

"Argentine!" She grasped at the lightly muscled arms in unprecedented relief for his return. Tears came back to her eyes, wetting her lashes.

"What, pray tell, were you doing?" he asked quietly, mixed emotions in his normally flavorless voice. He rather unceremoniously dropped her on the landing, orienting himself between her and the staircase. "I would advise against that escape route," he muttered, worry overpowering the idle threat in his voice.

Risa stared at him, blinking out miniscule tears. "No, no, that wasn't…" she started, putting her hands up defensively. "I was just looking for you!"

"Really?" Argentine muttered, a hint of pleasure in his eyes. He reached forward, gently swiping at the moisture at the corners of her eyes with his thumb. "I apologize for not being here. You could have simply waited for me, you realize." He half-herded her back into the main room, apparently still doubting her explanation.

"…I guess," Risa admitted. "But I was worried. Where were you?" she asked, trying to sound curious rather than frantic. She climbed onto her bed- at some point, it had started to seem like it really did belong to her- and watched him as he settled on his piano bench.

He stared back at her, his eyes mild, the faint shadow of a grin whispering along his lips. "I was asleep. I have been sleeping elsewhere, since my bed has been occupied," he allowed a hint of teasing playfulness into his eyes as he looked at her, "and as you usually are not up quite this early, you beat me to the rising." Here, he actually grinned, if only just a little. "You seem rather flustered, Sacred Maiden. Are you well?"

"I'm fine," Risa huffed, crossing her arms. "I just… didn't know where you were, and… I got annoyed." _Liar._

Realization crossed Argentine's features, and he became more serious. "Ah, your aversion to being alone." He couldn't help but grin at Risa's answering indignation and surprise. "I can stay here, if you would prefer that… Of course, eventually I do need to sleep."

"Er, no, you don't have to do that," Risa exclaimed, suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of Argentine being there while she slept. "Now that I know where you'll be, I won't worry about it."

Suspicion clouded Argentine's face; he shifted anxiously. "You will not? You're sure?"

"Sure I'm sure," Risa countered, leaning back on her pillows. "Where do you go to sleep, anyway?" she asked, curious.

Argentine shrugged, turning to face the piano. "I own a small estate, quite far away from any larger cities, and no one ever goes there. There is a town nearby where I've been picking up your food." He started playing then, signaling the end of the conversation. Risa didn't feel like letting it go.

Standing quietly, she went to stand behind the bench. She was closer to him than she had yet been of her own accord. "Is that a place I might get to see?"

Argentine glanced back at her over his shoulder. "It's nothing special."

"I don't care! Any change of scenery would be nice at this point."

Grinning a little, Argentine sighed and picked up his song. "As you wish."


End file.
